By Goal.com News on Saturday, 14 November 2020
Category: Goal.com News

LIVE: Switzerland vs Spain

Spain are sorely lacking in a clinical edge this evening. Switzerland had solid spell of play and capitalised through Freuler. La Roja have had moments, but Ferran Torres along with his team-mates in the final third have spurned openings. Luis Enrique needs to see more from his team in the second half.

Switzerland are on their way to securing a vital win in the Nations League, leading Spain 1-0 at the break at St Jakok-Park. Remo Freuler put them ahead with a fine left-footed strike from Breel Embolo's cross. La Roja almost hit back through Mikel Oyarzabal and Mikel Merino before the interval, but neither could find the back of the net.

45' + 1' HALF-TIME: SWITZERLAND 1-0 SPAIN

45' + 1' OVER! Merino spurns a golden opening before the break. He latches on to a flick on from Pau Torres at the back post from Olmo's corner. Merino sticks out a boot, but can only send his effort over the top with the goal gaping.

45' SAVE! Sommer beats away a strike from Oyarzabal from the edge of the box. Merino slides a pass to the forward, and he pulls the trigger, squeezing his shot through a crowded penalty area. However, the Switzerland keeper is alert and makes the stop.

44' Ferran Torres' difficult half continues. He surges into space down the right flank and has team-mates in the box. However, he picks out Shaqiri with his cutback to waste a promising opening.

42' Busquets is back on the field, which will be relief for Enrique and Barcelona fans watching.

41' Ebolo draws a foul from Busquets, but the Spain midfielder comes off worst in the challenge. A concern for Enrique and Rodri is sent out to warm up.

40' Ruiz rolls the ball towards Ferran Torres in the right inside channel. The forward tries to blast his strike through the wall of red shirts in the box, but Elvedi is well placed to make the block.

38' SAVE! Ruiz weaves his way through the Switzerland midfield and lines up a strike from the edge of the box. He curls a left-footed effort towards goal, but Sommer gets down to push it away from danger.

36' Switzerland are in a decent spot in their game management. Petkovic's men can afford to sit back and use their pace on the break. Embolo has already been very effective in space.

34' BLOCK! Ferran Torres forces a low cross towards the near post from the right flank. Olnmo gets ahead of Elvedi, but the defender sticks with the forward and blocks his attempted strike at goal.

32' Reguilon and Oyarzabal combine down the left flank, but the low cross from the latter is gathered with ease by Sommer.

31' Spain have lost their way out on the pitch. They're not playing with the fluency that they displayed in the early stages of the contest.

29' Shaqiri tries to be too clever from the resulting corner trying to catch out Simon at his near post. He succeeds in only clipping his cross into the side-netting.

29' SAVE! Rodriguez lines up the strike and he whips his effort with power towards goal. It's straight at Simon, but the keeper has to tip it over the bar.

28' Xhaka twists and turns, and manages to draw a foul from Olmo in the final third. Switzerland have a free-kick in a dangerous position.

23' Olmo tries to break past the challenge of Akanji and in turn fouls the defender. The Spain forward is incredulous with that decision by referee William Collum.

22' CLOSE! Sommer has a heart-stopping moment between the sticks for the home side. Oyarzabal lifts a cross into the box from the left and it should be a routine catch for the keeper, However, he fumbles the cross behind him. Fortunately for Sommer, he gathers before a white shirt can react.

21' OVER! Switzerland have come to life in the final third. Xhaka presses forward to collect a pass from Zuber on the edge of the box. He floats a cross into the box towards Serferovic. The forward backpedals, but glances his effort over the bar.

20' OVER! Shaqiri lines up a drive from 25 yards on this occasion. He gathers the loose ball following a corner and skips past a challenge from Ruiz. The forward pulls the trigger on a left-footed strike, but sends his attempt over the top.

19' SAVE! Embolo releases Shaqiri into the left inside channel with a neat offload. The Liverpool man goes for a strike on his left foot from a tight angle, forcing Simon to spread himself to divert the ball behind for a corner.

18' Ruiz lines up an effort from distance, but he sends his left-footed strike wide of the target.

16' Embolo charges at the Spain defence, but he runs straight into a challenge with Ramos and loses possession. The home side are not offering a great deal going forward.

12' The referee has to act as Serferovic and Busquets square up. The Barcelona man is the instigator as he kicks the hands of Seferovic.

12' The home side seem fairly content to sit in their shape. Petkovic's men are not being too adventurous in their approach, despite their position in Group 4.

10' OVER! La Roja work the ball from left to right before Olmo tees up Ferran Torres with a backheel. He goes for a strike at goal from the right inside channel, but blasts his attempt over the bar.

10' Spain are seeing a lot of the ball in the early stages of the game. The visitors have found a rhythm to their passing.

8' Fernandes battles down the right flank against Oyarzabal and wins a throw-in for the home side.

6' Olmo is played into space down the right flank and he tries to twist and turn his way past Akanji, but the defender edges the ball out for a corner.

5' Embolo finds space down the right flank, coasting past the challenge of Reguilon. He sends a cross deep to the back post for Zuber, but he fails to guide his strike towards goal. Xhaka latches on the loose ball, but scuffs his effort straight towards Pau Torres to clear.

4' Olmo and Oyarzabal attemot to combine on the edge of the box, but Elvedi sticks out a boot to make the intervention at the back for the hosts.

3' Elvedi floats the ball forward for Embolo, but the forward can only flick it over the head of Pau Torres and out for a goal-kick.

2' Sergi Robert surges down the right flank, but his cutback evades the run of Ferran Torres on the edge of the box.

1' We're underway at St Jakob-Park.

The players are out on the pitch, so we should be underway shortly.

Spain drew against Netherlands in their friendly outing last time out. Only Simon keeps his place in the side between the sticks. Ramos, Sergi Roberto, Pau Torres and Reguilon start in the four-man backline. Busquets, Ruiz and Merino get the nod in the middle of the park. Olmo, Oyarzabal and Ferran Torres form a three-man attack, starting ahead of Morata, Moreno and Marco Asensio.

Switzerland were beaten 2-1 by Belgium during the week in a friendly contest. Petkovic has made six changes to his team to take on Spain tonight. Akanji, Elvedi and Rodriguez come into the backline, while Shaqiri and Freuler start in the midfield. Seferovic leads the line supported by Embolo in the final third.

SPAIN SUBS: David de Gea, Inigo Martinez, Sergio Canales, Alvaro Morata, Koke, Gerard Moreno, Hector Bellerin, Adama Traore, Eric Garcia, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Marc Cucurella, Rodri.

SPAIN (4-3-3): Unai Simon; Sergi Roberto, Sergio Ramos, Pau Torres, Sergio Reguilon; Mikel Merino, Sergio Busquets, Fabian Ruiz; Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres, Mikel Oyarzabal.

SWITZERLAND SUBS: Loris Benito, Eray Comert, Renato Steffen, Yvon Mvogo, Djibril Sow, Ruben Vargas, Becir Omeragic, Admir Mehmedi, Mario Gavranovic, David von Ballmoos.

SWITZERLAND (4-4-1-1): Yann Sommer; Edimilson Fernandes, Nico Elvedi, Manuel Akanji, Ricardo Rodriguez; Xherdan Shaqiri, Granit Xhaka, Remo Freuler, Steven Zuber; Breel Embolo; Haris Seferovic.

Spain can take a huge stride towards the Nations League Finals with a victory tonight. Luis Enrique's men are currently top of Group 4, holding a one-point lead over Germany. La Roja were stunned by Ukraine last time out in Kiev, losing 1-0 on the road. They have to be wary of the threat of Switzerland. Spain face a test of character as well as their quality this evening.

Switzerland are staring down the possibility of relegation to Nations League B if they're unable to lift themselves off the foot of Group 4. Vladimir Petkovic's men have claimed only two points from their four matches to date, one of which came last time out in a 3-3 draw against Germany. Switzerland have played decent football at times, but need to turn those displays into a victory - starting tonight against La Roja.

Good evening and welcome to the live commentary of the Nations League clash between Switzerland and Spain at St. Jakob-Park.

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